


Uma the Bravest Marksman in the World

by Dominique_Icefall



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bounty Hunters, Female Friendship, Genderbending, Murder, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Reincarnation, references
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2020-09-26 18:03:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20393881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dominique_Icefall/pseuds/Dominique_Icefall
Summary: Uma was three when she realized she was dead-but-not. When the knowledge that she’d lived before and died and had been reborn. Yasopp and Banchina were Usopp’s parents in One Piece. That as far as she knew, Usopp didn’t exist, and instead she did. Uma was a completely different person from Usopp. What did this mean for the Straw Hat Pirates? What did this mean for her?“I’m gonna be the Bravest Marksman in the World,”





	1. Before Meeting Straw Hat Luffy

**Author's Note:**

> I might add more childhood scenes if I think of them but for now, this is what I've got.

Uma was three when she realized she was dead-but-not. When the knowledge that she’d lived before and died and had been reborn. She was three, crying in Mama’s arms as memories of another life brought a new set of fears and understanding. 

“I’m here Sweetie,” Mama said, rocking her and rubbing soothing circles on her back. “I’m here.”

Uma was three-years-old with memories of another life swirling in her dark brown eyes when her life began to change.

* * *

Mama was a maid at the Manor on the hill. There was no schooling or formal education for the village children. Parents taught their children what they knew, and their children grew up to inherit whatever job their parents had done. Boys were expected to run the business, girls were expected to become mothers and support their husbands. Sometimes the Lord or Lady of the Manor would hire someone from the village to work as Household Staff, but that was rare. Mama had been the daughter of a Maid and a Butler, had been raised to be a maid, and that was her life. Uma loved her Mama, honestly, she did, but that’s not the life she wanted to live. 

Sitting on the white marble counter, as Mama washed the expensive imported dishes from Goa Kingdom, Uma tried to think of what she did want to do with her life.

“Do I have a Daddy?” Uma asked. She doesn’t remember having a Daddy, but maybe he’s a Marine or something so that’s why she hasn’t seen him yet.

“You do,” Mama said. “He was a good man.”

Uma nodded. He was a good man. He’s probably dead then. That’s fine, a bit sad but Uma lived one life without any parents. She’s got Mama, she doesn’t need a Daddy too.

“...could you tell me about him?”

“He loved the sea. He used to tell me about how the sea called to him, about how there was so much of the world out there to see and if he only had a single chance to answer that call he’d take it. His life is on the sea, and so when he got the chance to leave I let him go.”

Uma wasn’t sure what to feel about her ‘Daddy’. Mama loved him, could recall every moment they spent together from when he swept her off her feet at the pub to their wedding to the day he set sail with a red-haired pirate captain. Uma knew about the call of the sea, having felt it herself when she was sad or upset. Retreating to the cliffs, overlooking the wide expanse of sea. It was hard to ignore, but ‘Daddy’ up and left them for the sea. No letters, or messages, or visits. Uma wasn’t sure what to think about her ‘Daddy’. He might be dead. He might not be. They didn’t know.

“What’s his name?”

“Yasopp,” Mama said. “But on his wanted posters he’s called ‘Chaser’.”

Yasopp... a red-haired pirate captain…

“What’s your name, Mama?”

“Banchina,” Mama said. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason.” 

Except that Yasopp and Banchina were Usopp’s parents in One Piece. That as far as she knew, Usopp didn’t exist, and instead she did. Uma was a completely different person from Usopp. Hell, as far as she knew her life was vastly different from Usopp’s. She never met her Father, but Usopp had been at least six or seven years old when his dad left for good to become a Pirate. His mother had died shortly after, and he practically idolized the man who never returned. Did he even know she existed?

“I love you, Mama.”

“Love you too Sweetie.”

She wondered what else was different from the story she remembered. Was she as good of a marksman as Usopp had been?

* * *

Mama got Uma a slingshot for her fourth birthday. Lining up a bunch of stolen tin cans, she practiced using her slingshot to knock them down. It was… a lot easier than she thought it would be. Mama helped her make targets and stone pellets for her to ‘play’ with. While Mama worked at the Manor, Uma climbed trees and trained with her slingshot until it got boring. 

Heading into the village, the small girl tried to find something to do. There were a few shops, a clothing shop, a toy shop, and such but she didn’t have any money. So she needed money. Which means she needs a job.

“Excuse me, Granny,” Uma said. “Can I have a job? I know how to wash dishes.”

“Such a sweet girl,” the Granny said. “Let me get you a footstool…”

Uma started doing odd jobs here and there around the village, for whatever the villagers were willing to pay her. Cleaning, painting, fixing things and building things. When she wasn’t training with her slingshot, she was working in the village. She saved up her beli and created a list of things she wanted to buy one day.

* * *

“I want one of the pretty dresses, Miss Jiro got from the merchants but I need the overalls because I do a lot of work that gets me dirty-” Uma was complaining to Mama about her problems again. She knew the difference between a want and a need, knew it better than anything else. She wanted to be pretty, and wear pretty clothes and have nicer fabrics but she couldn’t afford it. Mama barely made enough beli for food for the both of them, much less any extra things they could want. It was part of the reason why Uma worked around the village, doing odd jobs for beli or favors or free stuff. She needed new overalls, her current ones were almost a year old and were too small. “But I don’t know if I need or want throwing knives and shuriken. I’m not planning on setting out to sea until I’m older, but when I do I’m going to need to be able to protect myself better and having only one weapon is such a weakness-” she could wait and save up for the small bladed weapons. “And it’s all so difficult Mama.”

“I know Sweetie,” Mama said. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out though. I believe in you.”

“Thanks, Mama.”

“The Lord and Lady have a daughter,” Mama said. “She’s your age.”

Uma sat on their bed, tying her hair up with a scrunchy hair tie. She vaguely remembered Kaya from the Story in her first life, she had been Usopp’s girlfriend or something right?

“That’s nice,” Uma said. Maybe they could be friends?

Laying on their bed, as Mama got ready for work, Uma smiled. She loved this time, squeezing as much time out of their day to spend together as they could. Mama works all day at the Manor and Uma missed her. But this, just talking to Mama when she could, it was nice.

Mama left for work and Uma planned. She was going to meet Kaya, and determine for herself if they could be friends or not.

* * *

Climbing the gate, crawling through the bushes, and then climbing the tree, Uma eventually found the window to Kaya’s room. The girl really was around her own age. Two five-year-old girls, who couldn’t be more opposite if they tried. Uma had curly black hair, bright brown eyes, tanned skin, and unlike Usopp, had a cute Greek-like nose. Kaya, on the other hand, had straight blonde hair, dark brown eyes, snow-white skin, and a cute button nose. 

Uma tapped at the window. The girl in the room looked up at the sound but didn’t move. Uma tapped at the window again. Hiding out of sight, pressed against the tree branch, but hanging close enough to reach the window, was not easy. 

When the girl finally got up to check out the window, Uma was excited.

“Who are you?”

“I’m the World’s Best Marksman, The Brave Pirate Uma.”

Kaya leaned forward, an excited grin on her face “Really?” 

“Well, not yet,” Uma admitted. “But one day it’ll be true.”

“What are you doing here, Uma the Brave?”

“I’m looking for a princess. Are you a princess?”

“Why are you looking for a princess?”

“I wanna kidnap a princess for the day. Because I’m a Pirate.”

Kaya frowned, her arms crossed as she thought.

“Will you return the princess in time for dinner?”

“Of course!”

“Then I am Princess Kaya of Syrup Village. You may kidnap me.”

Uma giggled, pulled out a spare pair of overalls from her hip pouch and tossed them into Kaya’s room. Kaya changed out of her simple gown, and then they were climbing out of her bedroom window and running through the gates and into the village. 

* * *

“This is Hana and Lee’s shop, they trade stuff with shops in Loguetown. And over here is Granny’s dinner, and next door is Mister Ken’s pub and that’s Jiro’s clothing shop-”

Uma pointed at each shop as they went. Most of the shop owners lived in apartments above their shops, but other villagers lived in the houses on the other side of the Manor Hill. 

“I live in the hut by the cliffs, wanna see it?”

“Please!”

The two girls ran through the village, laughing and talking and exploring. It was the start of a good friendship, Uma thought. 

* * *

When Kaya turned six, she started learning how to dance. At her stubborn instance, Uma was allowed to join those lessons. Ballet was a lot of fun, and Uma recalled some online posts in her last life mentioning that dancers had strong legs and sore feet. She didn’t want to damage her feet too much, but ballet wasn’t part of her ‘Brave Pirate Marksman’ dream so she thought she’d be fine.

“I’ve got a few other tutors,” Kaya said as they changed out of their ballet clothes. “If you wanna join any of my other lessons.”

How much like Usopp did Uma want to be? Sure, she was a Marksman and was going to be a Pirate, but what kind of Marksman was she going to be? Usopp made his star pellets, a mix of battle capable and pranks, but she couldn’t see that being how she fought. But if she could make her own pellets, then she could create a variety for different situations. But her slingshot wasn’t the only weapon she was going to have.

“I’m gonna have to think about it,” Uma said. 

“That’s okay!”

So Uma spent the next few weeks figuring out what she wanted her fighting style to be. Her extensive anime knowledge made this task both easy and difficult on so many levels.

* * *

She wanted throwing-knives and shuriken, iron, seastone, and poison pellets for her slingshot, and at least one gun. All those weapons could be used from a distance and would allow her to protect her crew - if she got one - from a bird’s eye view of the battle. 

Maybe it was a bit cowardly, staying out of the direct line of conflict like that. Taking out her enemies before they knew she was a threat. But she didn’t really care. She’d died young in her last life, she wasn’t going down the same way this time.

“Ballet will build my strength and stuff… and I guess Observation and Armament Haki would be helpful too… Maybe some of those Marine assassin skills?” She didn’t really need that much of an education to be strong after all. But maybe knowing how to read would help.

* * *

Learning how to read lead to Uma collecting Newspapers, and paying the NewsCoo gull extra for papers from the other Blues and both halves of the Grand Line. Mama helped her create a Bingo Book, full of up to date wanted posters or personal notes on various people. 

“So then the Marine got promoted, Marine Captain Morgan who runs the base at Shells Town, and the Black Cats are in the wind. Pirate Captain Kuro is supposedly dead, but they couldn’t find his body. There’s a chance he faked his death.” Uma said.

“That’s so scary!” Kaya said, excitedly bouncing in her seat as Mama served them dinner. 

“Not as scary as the lastest sighting of Don Krieg,” Uma said. “He attacked the Tea islands pretending to be a Marine Ship and burned all three islands to the ground. His bounty was increased by ten thousand due to the effect this attack will have on the Tea Trade and another twenty thousand for impersonating the Marines.”

“You’re growing up so fast…” Mama said. 

“Where’d that come from?” Uma blinked, raising an eyebrow at her. “I’m almost eight, I can’t be a baby forever.”

“One day you’ll be the World’s Bravest Marksman!” Kaya said. 

“No shot to risky, no distance too far!”

* * *

Mama was sick.

Uma wasn’t sure what to do. The doctor couldn’t fix it. Mama was sick, and the doctor couldn’t fix it. Using some of her savings, Uma bought Mama meds so she wasn’t in pain, but that was all she could do. Help Mama, so she wasn’t in pain. 

Mama was in bed, a cold cloth on her forehead and another on her neck. She was sore and tired and Uma was so scared.

She made soup, helped Mama drink it. Cleaned up and washed the laundry and changed Mama’s cold clothes so they were still cold. She sat at Mama’s bedside and talked. She sang songs all the songs she still remembered from her first life, trying to make Mama smile again. She sat there, next to Mama every day and watched as she got weaker and weaker. 

“I love you, Mama,” Uma cried, holding Mama’s hand. “I love you so much.”

Uma painted Mama’s wooden casket black, green, and blue. Then, she flipped through her Bingo Book and added Father’s Jolly Roger. Mama loved Father, was loyal to him even after he seemingly forgot them. Mama was buried behind their little hut by the cliffs. Uma planted Mama’s favorite flowers and spent hours crying by the tombstone.

“I’m gonna be the best Marksman in the World,” Uma wiped away her tears. “So watch me, ‘kay Mama?”

* * *

Uma left Syrup Village at ten years old on a small fishing boat. She tracked down the cheapest bounty in her Bingo Book, ‘Menace Macy’, and found them on Mirror Ball Island. Menace Macy is a sixteen-year-old whore who poisons her customers and loots their corpses. Prostitution is considered the oldest profession, and not exactly illegal, but the whole killing people thing is illegal. The fact several Marines have fallen prey to the tricks of Menace Macy makes her a threat to the Marine Forces here in East Blue. But, with a bounty of only 1,000 beli, she wasn’t much of a threat.

Sitting on the roof of a building, overlooking the ally below, Uma watched as Menace Macy made herself at home. Comparing the teenager to the wanted poster, ash-blonde hair, skimpy clothes, and a burn scar on her left arm, Uma confirmed she’d found who she was looking for. 

Slingshot, iron pellet, aim-then-fire. 

Menace Macy went down, the iron pellet leaving a bruise on her neck. 

“That was… surprisingly easy…”

Was that _ too _easy? She didn’t know. 

She carted the target to the nearest Marine Bounty Office, fabricated a story about how ‘her Daddy’ was the one who captured Macy, traded her in for the beli and then returned to her little village. 

That was too easy. It barely took her a month to do and most of that time was travel. If other cheap bounties were this easy to get, it would be wonderful training.

When she returned to Kaya’s Mansion, the Lord and Lady hired her as Kaya’s personal bodyguard. She was allowed to hunt bounties, but whenever Kaya had to leave the island Uma was expected to protect her. It also meant that Uma was allowed to bring her weapons into the Mansion as the other bodyguards did.

* * *

“What’s your Dad’s name?” the Marine officer at the bounty desk asked.

“Hatake Kakashi,” Uma said, counting her recent earnings. “Thank you!”

* * *

Hatake Kakashi was mentioned in the newspapers. A mysterious new bounty hunter with a daughter to feed. As Uma went after harder bounties, drug dealers and serial killers and kidnappers, the name Hatake Kakashi took on a life of its own. Passing comments at bounty desks about her ‘daddy’ provided a basis for the speculation.

When Uma figured out how to spark a fire with a snap of her armament coated fingers, she added a flame to the rumors.

“This doesn’t look like your dad’s work…” Marine office Kendry said, eyeing the burnt man passed out on the floor.

“That’s because it wasn’t,” Uma said. “This was done by my Dad’s friend Uchiha Obito.”

“Oh?”

“Yep! They were best friends as children, rivals even, but then Daddy had me and Mummy died, and then Daddy started bounty hunting.”

“Huh…”

“But I don’t think their normal friends,” Uma said. 

“No?”

She leaned forward as if she was sharing a secret and whispered: “I saw them kissing once.”

The newspapers’ ‘Bounty Hunter’ article was a lot of fun to read for the next few days. Every time she brought in another bounty, she revealed a bit more about ‘Hatake Kakashi’ and ‘Uchiha Obito’ and their ‘forbidden love’. No one thought the little girl gossiping about her Dad’s love life was actually the bounty hunter, much less when there were clearly two different bounty hunters involved.

Then, the day came where Uma bought herself a bunch of throwing-knives and shuriken. Introducing a third person to her ‘bounty hunter list’ was easy. 

“Nohara Rin,” Uma said. “She’s usually my Daddy’s medic, but this guy made her angry.”

“So she turned him into a pincushion?”

“Yeah, she’s pretty scary.”

* * *

At twelve she started puberty. She and Kaya went shopping, and ‘re-invented’ themselves with a total make-over to celebrate their entrance to womanhood. Kaya wore long simple dresses, with a nice floral jacket. Uma decided on something easy to hunt bounties in. Black pants, with several nice large pockets. A belt. A dark blue tank-top, and a black crop-top hoodie. 

“No more overalls for me!” Uma said, transferring her stuff from her overall pockets to her new pants. 

“This was so much fun,” Kaya said. “We should do this again…”

“We’ll be back,” Uma promised. “I want a corset, and maybe a nice skirt.”

Kaya giggled, and the two girls made their way up the hill to the Manor.

* * *

At fourteen Kaya’s parents were killed on a business trip, and a new butler was added to the household staff. 

“You know,” Uma said as Kaldore or whatever his name was served them tea. “they say black cats are bad luck. I’ve heard that it’s because unlike other cats who have nine lives, black cats only have three.”

“Only three?” Kaya asked.

“I’ve seen a black cat on its last life recently too. Desperately searching for an easy life of luxury, but it was too arrogant. Didn’t survive long enough, the poor dear.”

Pirate Captain Kuro shot her a glare. Uma twiddled her fingers at him with a smile. If he wanted to kill her best friend, he’d have to go through her first. Her Haki might be weak, but at least she had it. 

* * *

At sixteen Uma bought a black leather corset, to go over her blue tank top, and a gun. 

The Pirate Butler was trying to foster depression through isolation in Kaya, but after the past few years, it just isn’t working. Kinda hard for Kaya to feel isolated when Uma spontaneously decides to kidnap her to go shopping. The poor man’s ‘humble butler’ facade was fraying thin. It was highly amusing but it was getting dull too. She didn’t like having a threat so close to Kaya, but if he was going to play butler then that was fine. Merry getting too old to do a lot of the household duties. 

* * *

At seventeen Kuro made a mistake. He’d hidden weapons in Kaya’s mansion. He was a butler, not a bodyguard. He was not allowed to bring weapons into Kaya’s home. Uma has been Kaya’s bodyguard since she was young, is the only contracted individual allowed to bring weapons into Kaya’s mansion. 

“Pirate Captain Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates,” Uma said, her gun pointing at the fake butler. “I accuse you of acting against the Lady of the House, of treason against the Lady of the House. How do you plead?”

“How are you going to stop me?” Kuro asked, eyeing her gun with amusement. “You’ve never killed someone before.”

“You’re wrong.” She pulled the trigger. Headshot. She’s a bounty hunter, murder is not new.

* * *

The day the Black Cat Pirates sought revenge for the murder of their Captain was the same day Monkey D. Luffy and his baby pirate crew docked on her Island. Uma wondered what she looked like, standing at the top of the slope, a gun in each hand as a sea of angry pirates charged at her from the shore. 

Uma was aiming to kill. Each shot was to take an attacker out of the fight permanently. Anyone who attempted to sneak through the trees never made it. Her armament Haki was weak, she couldn’t hold it for very long, but her Observation Haki was on point.

All in all, the only thing difficult about this fight was the fact there was only one of her and over a hundred Black Cat Pirates.

And then she ran out of bullets. Damn. 


	2. May 7th, Part 1

"I am Uma, Head of Syrup Village Guards. Turn back now and I'll spare your lives!" Uma said, stalling the crowd of pirates while she switched out her guns for her slingshot and a fistful of ammo. "This is your last chance! Leave or die!" Taking aim, the replacement Captain shaking in his boots hidden behind the crowd, Uma let the small iron pellet fly. It smack the Captain in Glasses in the forehead, knocking him out cold. The rest of the Black Cat Pirates that still stood screamed. They fled back to their ship in a hasty retreat. 

Slipping another pellet, this one Sea Stone, into her slingshot she aimed it toward the trio standing on the shore. 

"I don't care who you are," Uma said, narrowing her aim to 'Strawhat' Monkey D. Luffy. "If you intend to harm even a single hair in my Village, or damage a single brick, I will end you. Understood?"

"Crystal!" the orange haired Navigator said.

"Eh, alright," Strawhat Luffy said. "You got any food?"

"Or some booze?" the Pirate Hunter turned Pirate asked.

Uma lowered her slingshot, hesitated, before she put it away. She kept three pellets in her left hand, even as she invited them into the village. Sea Stone would knock out the Captain, and an iron pellet each for the other two. Vaguely fond of them she might be from a story she read in her first life, it was better to be safe than sorry. More so when the lives she promised to protect were at risk. 

* * *

Granny's Diner was a tavern in the village center, it sold food, drink, and if you talk to the right people, information. 

"Granny cooks the food, Carla serves it," Uma said, waving the young almost thirteen-year-old over to their table. "This is Carla. Carla's brother, Ralph, is the bartender, but if you want anything from the other Blues you'll have to talk to Grand-Dad, 'cause that stuff is in the back. If you want a map from the Gecko Islands to any other island in East Blue, Yuki sells them for a thousand Beli at the bar, there's no promise of quality though, all the maps are stolen." Uma tapped her fingers on her thigh, making sure she didn't forget anything. "If you need me I work in the manor on the hill. See ya around, I guess…"

With no reason to hang around the visiting trio, Uma left them at Granny's Diner and made her way back to Kaya's place. She had to figure out how to quit her job as a Guard. As much as she loved the island, and cared about the villagers and Kaya, she couldn't stay. She wanted to set sail, as a Pirate or a Bounty Hunter she wasn't sure, but her dream was on the sea. Only by challenging stronger fighters would she be able to grow past her limits, and be recognized as the Greatest Marksman. She couldn't do that from East Blue. 

But how do you quit when your best friend is your boss?

Kaya was sitting in her office looking over trade agreements with the other Gecko islands when Uma walked in. The familiar stamp in the corner of each page marked the documents as part of the Gecko Island Treaty, but the large white envelope with the blue stamp was from the Marines. Kaya's office looked the same as always, two armchairs angled to face Kaya's desk, with a coffee table between them. The only thing missing was the fake butler looming in the corner, but honestly that was no real loss.

"The Black Cat Pirates have been dealt with," Uma said, standing in front of Kaya's desk. 

"I knew they would be,"

Uma dropped into the armchair, threw her feet onto the coffee table, and covered her eyes with her arm. "There's also a trio visiting, two pirates and a thief in a temporary alliance with them."

"What do you know about them?" Kaya asked, glancing up from her paperwork.

"Monkey D. Luffy, Grandson of Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp, and son of Admiral Garp's estranged son Dragon. Roronora Zoro, a swordsman who uses three swords, hunted bounties for the past six years, mostly pirates, earned the epithet Pirate Hunter. Nami, a thief by choice and a pirate by debt, she steals from pirates to pay off a debt she owes to another pirate which is not an actual debt but a leash which chains her to him and by which he holds her village hostage. I don't think they're threats, but I suggest you keep your Guards on patrol until they leave."

"And you?" Kaya asked. "Are you going on another bounty hunting trip?"

"...Yeah, I am."

"Are you going to come back?"

Uma dropped her arm, turning to face the blonde at the desk. Kaya's smile was sad, her posture resigned, she wasn't surprised.

"No, I don't think I'll come back this time."

"I knew this day was coming," Kaya's said. "So I had a ship built for you,"

"Excuse me, you did what now?"

* * *

Uma followed Kaya and Merry to the abandoned docks on the other side of the island. A faintly familiar caravel was docked there, with a sheep figurehead and bright, warm colors. 

"How the hell am I supposed to sail a caravel by myself?" Uma tapped her fingers against her biceps, staring up at the ship. 

"I… thought maybe you'd figure out something?" Kaya shrugged. Merry was laughing at them, Uma ignored him.

"Right, and I suppose a solution will just fall from the heavens then?"

With a yelp and a swear two pirates fell from above, an orange-haired woman jumping down after them. Uma covered her face with her hands, while Kaya failed to muffle her laughter.

"Join my crew!" The Captain in the Strawhat said. 

"A caravel, it's beautiful, I'd buy it from you if you'd like? How's fifty Beli? Twenty?" the orange haired thief asked.

"Get off me!" The swordsman yelled, pushing the Strawhat Captain off him.

"What the hell just happened?" Uma asked.

"A solution fell from the heavens," Kaya said.

This was anime luck, wasn't it? Why'd she open her mouth again?


	3. May 7th, Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm struggling with characterization so this is short. Let me know if it completely sucks? Or not...I'm not sure I could handle any more criticism than I'm already giving myself. The next chapter will be longer? At least it should be. And then the one after is the Baratie and Sanji.

Uma painted the familiar Skull and Cross Bones wearing a straw hat onto the sails, the black flag with the same jolly roger flying high above them. 

“How can you wear a corset so casually?” Nami asked, sitting in the crow's nest. 

“Pretty easily,” Uma said, snickering when Nami rolled her eyes. “It’s leather, but designed more like armor than an undergarment, which is why I wear it above my shirts. I can also reinforce the leather with my Haki easier than I can cloth, as its most similar to skin.”

“Haki…” Nami muttered. “I’ve heard of that before…”

“It’s an ability frequently used on the Grand Line,” Uma said. “Do you know any blabber mouth former Grand Line residents?”

Nami furrowed her brows, before blinking. Her hand coming to her shoulder, the one with the tattoo she despised so much, a sneer twisting her lips.

“How’d you learn it?”

“A lot of hard work,”

“Could you teach me?”

Uma dropped from the sail into the crow's nest with a smile. “Of course,”

* * *

“There are three types of Haki,” Uma said, as Nami secured a blindfold around the dark-haired girl’s eyes. “I’m going to demonstrate the only two that are actually teachable. The third is instinctive and cannot be learned. You've either got or ya don't.”

“Alright, it’s tied,” Nami said. Uma shook her head, making sure the fabric wouldn’t fall off, while the red-head walked to the other end of the deck. Luffy was sitting on a barrel watching them with curious eyes, and Zoro was sitting against the railing, watching the ‘training’ with interest. 

“Observation,” Uma began, as Nami picked up the bag of training marbles. “Is my best. The ability to see without my eyes,” 

Nami began slow. Tossing one marble that Uma easily caught and handed over to Luffy. Then a second one was tossed, overhand, and Uma jumped to catch it, and handed it to Zoro. Nami started tossing the marbles faster, and then Luffy and Zoro did the same until Uma was catching and juggling the small spheres as the trio tried to make her miss one. 

Uma slipped the marbles into her pockets as she caught them, running back and forth from the end of the deck to make sure none of them fell into the sea. 

“So Cool!” Luffy cheered as Uma pulled the blindfold off. 

“And you can teach me to do that?” Nami asked, excitement sparkling in her eyes. 

“I can,” Uma confirmed. “But it won’t be easy,”

And after an hour of being pelted with marbles, Nami groaned, “I’m one huge bruise,” she said as she sat to watch as Zoro got hit with the marbles and failed to doge them himself. The two girls smiled listening to Luffy’s laughter. “But...this is a lot more fun than when I learned how to use a bo-staff.”

Uma nodded her agreement as she ended Zoro’s Haki training, turning to Luffy with a smile.

“Did you wanna learn to Luffy?” Uma asked as she put away her bag of marbles. 

“Oh! I wanna learn the Mystery power!” the cheerful pirate stood on the deck, grabbing the blindfold from Zoro and hastily tying it around his eyes. Zoro fixed the blindfold so it would actually cover his eyes.

“I’m gonna use sea stone,” Uma said. “Rocks of the sea. You’re Devil Fruit won’t work on them, so you’ll have to doge or you’ll get hit, just like the rest of us, Okay Luffy?”

“Got it!”

Uma pulled out a handful of sea stone pellets, and flicked one at Luffy’s chest. He frowned but didn’t say anything as Uma sent another at him. There was a second reason she was introducing him to Sea Stone now, besides the fact it’d actually make training him in Haki possible. Hopefully, by introducing Luffy to Sea Stone now, he’d have at least a slight resistance to it later, when it actually becomes a threat. 

There wasn’t much to do on the sea. Training Haki and playing ‘get-to-know-you’ games was...not boring at least? 

She couldn’t remember what happened after the Strawhats left Syrup Village in the Story. Eventually, they’d go to the Baratie, and recruit Sanji, but...even if they sailed straight there, that was about four days of sailing. 

Well, she supposed this was one way to get to know other people. This should be...something.  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes it impresses me how fast Luffy flipped East Blue on its head. He'd been sailing not even for two weeks and left a wake of chaos behind him. Of course, my timeline is makeshift and full of guesses and bs but whatever. I adore Luffy so much and wish people I know could be as efficient as him. If it only took two weeks for every big bad in my 'sea' to be taken care of, life would be a lot better...anyways I'm rambling. Thank you for reading!


End file.
